Simplify the following expression: $n = \dfrac{p^2 - 3p - 4}{p + 1} $
Explanation: First factor the polynomial in the numerator. $ p^2 - 3p - 4 = (p + 1)(p - 4) $ So we can rewrite the expression as: $n = \dfrac{(p + 1)(p - 4)}{p + 1} $ We can divide the numerator and denominator by $(p + 1)$ on condition that $p \neq -1$ Therefore $n = p - 4; p \neq -1$